8 Years to Copy a 50 Year Old Russian Engine? Really?

"The United States must now respond decisively and provide our own domestic capacity to launch our crew and cargo into space," Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said. "We simply cannot rely on the vicissitudes of foreign suppliers in a foreign nation for our national security." The full costs of replacing the engine could be much higher than Congress is willing to commit to right now. It is, quite literally, rocket science to fit a new engine into existing rockets. Aside from building the engine itself, engineers will also need to make sure every other component works with the new machinery, kind of like switching out a car's hybrid engine with a V8. That could take five to eight years and cost up to $2 billion, predicted the Pentagon's acquisition and technology chief, Alan Estevez."

Keith's note: We went from having only tiny rockets to the Saturn V (and its massive engines) in 8 years. Here we are in the 21st century and it is going to take us the same amount of time to reverse engineer a 50 year old Russian engine design? Am I missing something?

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Senators vow to reassert America's rocket power, The Hill\n\n\"The United States must now respond decisively and provide our own domestic capacity to launch our crew and cargo into space,\" Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said. \"We simply cannot rely on the vicissitudes of foreign suppliers in a foreign nation for our national security.\" The full costs of replacing the engine could be much higher than Congress is willing to commit to right now. It is, quite literally, rocket science to fit a new engine into existing rockets. Aside from building the engine itself, engineers will also need to make sure every other component works with the new machinery, kind of like switching out a car's hybrid engine with a V8. That could take five to eight years and cost up to \$2 billion, predicted the Pentagon's acquisition and technology chief, Alan Estevez.\"\n\nAssured Access to Space - Prepared testimony and video, Senate Armed Services Committee\n\nU.S. Launch Enterprise: Acquisition Best Practices Can Benefit Future Efforts, GAO\n\nKeith's note: We went from having only tiny rockets to the Saturn V (and its massive engines) in 8 years. Here we are in the 21st century and it is going to take us the same amount of time to reverse engineer a 50 year old Russian engine design? Am I missing something?

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